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AH-17 Raptor
The AH-17 Raptor Bomber was the primary naval and atmospheric bomber for The Royal Allegiance during the Swarm War. Role The AH-17 Raptor was a heavy bomber in use with the The Royal Allegiance. They excelled at destroying undefended capital ships. Their primary role was that of capital ship killer, but they were also capable of planetary bombing missions. They could not function as fighters due to their large size and clumsy maneuverability. They were often deployed once AL-56 Flashfighters had destroyed a cruiser's starfighter protection, so that the bombers could begin their attack unmolested by deadly enemy fighters. As such, they were usually only seen during the latter stages of a battle, unless it was a tough fight and the Allegiance forces needed to bring as much fire as they could onto the enemy. Usage AH-17s were almost exclusively employed to engage hostile spatial armour. The only other role they were often assigned was that of an atmospheric bomber. Raptors were extremely expensive, valuable, and vulnerable. Allegiance commanders were reluctant to deploy them unless in must-win situations because they feared they might not receive replacements. Reflecting this, an Ares-class Battleship only carried two squadrons, an Apollo-class Frigate only two, and the Triton-class Heavy Destroyer no squadrons of Raptors. Layout In comparison to most other Allegiance designs, the Raptor was relatively smooth and sleek, and almost reminiscent of UNSC craft. The craft was dominated by a long fuselage, with the cockpit situated at it's fore. Aft of the cockpit was the large triple 65mm autocannon, and under the large, forward-swept wings were numerous large hardpoints to facilitate heavy payloads.The bomb bay was located on the ventral side of the fuselage, and two twin 20mm machine guns extended from the wing's leading edges. The Raptor's main thrusters were located at the aft of the fuselage, with two secondary ones located just underneath and two tertiary ones to aid in maneuvering on the wing's trailing edges. Two large tail fins extended from the large wing's dorsal surface, adding stability and control for atmospheric flights. Armament The Raptor's primary light armament was its two twin 20mm machine guns in stationary positions to port and starboard of the cockpit. These were for light purposes only, they would have no effect on warships. As a result they were reserved for any starfighters that strayed into the Raptor's path. The Raptor's main anti-armour weaponry were two torpedo tubes concealed underneath the cockpit. They could fire a wide range of ordnance, from standard torpedoes to high explosive warheads. These tubes were unable to carry nuclear warheads. Some models stripped all of their armament save for the tail gun, for replacement with a single, large Particle Cannon mounted underneath the cockpit. This provided the Allegiance with a versatile, small heavy weapons platform other than large, slow warships. For the main defensive armament, the AH-17 mounted a triple 65mm autocannon to the aft of the ship. This filled a gap in the ship's field of fire that would otherwise render the Raptor a tactical failure- an enemy ship approaching from behind would be able to easily destroy this craft, as it lacked maneuverability. This turret was quite powerful, being considered by some as the Raptor's main advantage. Underneath the large, forward-swept wings were two large hardpoint racks, capable of accommodating ordnance in numbers far greater than the Flashfighter. The racks were quite long which means each one could normally accommodate more than one warhead, unless the payload was HE warheads, in which case it carried one on each hardpoint, and nuclear warheads, which were carried one warhead to two hardpoints. Rounding off the Raptor's offensive armament was the ventral bomb bay. It could carry up to 3,000kg of payload but this severely impeded its wing hardpoint capacity. Also, in space combat, where there was no gravity, a bomb could not be 'dropped' onto a target- it would just float away. Therefore the standard configuration was an empty bomb bay and full hardpoint rack in space, and the opposite in atmosphere. A favourite of atmosphere pilots was to fill the bomb bay up with ordnance for a drop on targets, and use the hardpoints for WASP Air-to-Surface missiles. Weaknesses .]] As mentioned before, the Raptor suffers from (relatively) poor speed and maneuverability, stemming from its large mass. In atmosphere it retains its slow speed but its maneuverability was greatly improved thanks to its large wing surface area. The rear of the craft would be dangerously vulnerable if not for the triple 65mm turret, and the underside of the craft was still extremely exposed. This problem was exacerbated by the Raptor's large wing surface area, which presents a large and tantalising target from below. Physical Appearance The appearance of the Raptor had been compared to that of its namesake, birds of prey or 'raptors'. Its pointed nose, large, swept-back wings and tail fins all contributed to its striking appearance. It had even been said to be more physically appealing than the Flashfighter, but it would be a poor substitute for a dedicated fighter such as the AL-56. Behind the Scenes *The Raptor is aesthetically based on the F-302 Interceptor from Stargate: SG-1. *The design initially aimed to look similar to the Longsword, though this isn't the case in the final version. Category:Ship Classes of The Royal Allegiance Category:Vehicles of The Royal Allegiance